September 30, 2003

SACK HER

David Marr may think ABC reporter Gina Wilkinson only deserves a harsh lesson for encouraging Iraqi children to play Hamas activist with potentially explosive missile launchers, but Media Watch viewers -- some of whom could use spellcheck -- want her to be fired:

”Good on you for busting Gina Wilkinson. Are these people crazy? Doing a story on the danger to children of unexploded ordnance, and then getting them to play on it. She should be sacked. I think it is disgraceful.”

”I congratulate Media Watch for your work in presenting this dispicable act, however I remain at a loss as to what kind of person puts children on a missile launcher for a good story. She deserves not only to be sacked as a journalist, but repremanded for her inhuman act. This is not just an error of judgment - she new the facts and she disregarded them for a good story. Gina - your acts are dispicable, discusting and unforgivable.”

”She is certainly a criminal and should be sued for crime. It is not enough to scak her but even that the ABC management has not done due to unseen interest in her and her crimes which you ought to dig deep into to bring to the surface. I am going to sue her and ABC on behalf of teh Iraqi children who she tried to murder by forcing them to stand over the misiles.”

”Thank you Media Watch for exposing Jenna Wilkinson's shocking ethics. Not only did she disgrace journalism and the ABC, she displayed shocking personal values and was a disgrace to her family ...The ABC should take immediate action. I don’t want to see another news story delivered from this person again. I was sickened.”

”I beleive that Gina Wilkinson should be sacked for here recently exposed efforts in Iraq. Obviously she new that she was asking for the kids to be put into harms way ...”

Gotta love that part at the beginning (a segue from the prior segment, I assume) about how The Australian was a big supporter of the war and is still fudging the facts. I guess David Marr's made it official: the ABC, a taxpayer-funded arm of the state, declares that supporting the war makes you a liar. If I paid Australian taxes for that sort of thing, I'd be petitioning the government for the right to give Marr a swift kick in the butt.

On August 19 2003, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation broadcast an article by journalist Gina Wilkinson (wife of UNICEF media officer Geoff Keele) on unexploded ordinance. Media analysis television program "Media Watch" ran an article ( http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s956058.htm ) indicating that Gina Wilkinson ordered Iraqi children to stand on a missile launcher, and to walk around the missile twice.

Putting Iraqi children at risk like this is inexcusable. I wish to enquire as to UNICEF's role, if any, in this unacceptable stunt.

A reply ( http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/images/tulloh_mw_2909.gif ) to questions posed by Media Watch stated that "It is worth noting that UNICEF had no compunction about taking the media to the sites [of unexploded ordinance]". Is this correct?

UNICEF media officer Geoff Keele (husband of the journalist involved) had released a media release on unexploded ordinance.

Has Geoff Keele in particular, or any UNICEF employee in general, participated in, or knew about, Gina Wilkinson's article, in particular her ordering of kids to pose with unexploded ordinance? If so, are there plans for disciplinary action?

It is going to be really interesting to see what "punishment" the ABC is going to give her. We can use this instance as the ABC yardstick for all future transgressions. Maybe there is a different rule books used for punishing those who are deemed to be on the left and right?